Kolkata, June 13 (IANS) Over 2.15 crore women received benefits under ‘Lakshmir Bhandar’, West Bengal government’s dole scheme for the women in the state, till October 31, 2024, from the time it was introduced after the 2021 state Assembly elections, women and child development and social welfare minister, Dr Shashi Panja informed the Assembly on Friday.

“A total of 2,15,88,775 women benefited from payments under ‘Lakshmir Bhandar’ till 31, 2024. The total cost from the state exchequer on this count had been Rs 48,972 crore,” the minister informed the House on a question from the Trinamool Congress legislator from West Bengal’s Patharpratima Assembly constituency, Samir Jana.

The minister also said that those women receiving payments under the ‘Lakshmir Bhandar’ scheme are automatically entitled to payments under the state’s own ‘old age allowance’ after they complete the age of 60 and thus receive a similar amount.

“So far 6,04,837 women are enrolled under this ‘old age allowance’ scheme,” the minister informed.

Trinamool Congress has often claimed that the West Bengal government had been a pioneer in the country in introducing such a dole scheme exclusively for women. In several public speeches, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee claimed that many other state governments started similar dole schemes for women in their respective states following the example of West Bengal.

Any woman in the state, irrespective of financial background, can avail of the payments under the ‘Lakshmi Bhandar’ scheme. The monthly payment under this head currently is Rs 1,000 for women under the general category and Rs 1,200 for women under the reserved category.

However, the opposition parties in the state have often claimed that the payment under this scheme in West Bengal is much less than that under contemporary schemes in other states.

On Friday, Panja also informed the House that the number of Anganwadi Centres, local hubs in India that provide basic healthcare, nutrition, and early education to children under six years old and pregnant or lactating mothers, has almost tripled from what it was during the previous Left Front rule.

According to her, before 2011, the last year of the 34-year Left Front rule, the number of Anganwadi Centres in West Bengal was 18,586, which has now increased to 63,410.

–IANS

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